Green power goals jeopardised by 'lack of overarching plan'

The Public Accounts Committee has published a report warning that the Government has no overarching delivery plan to decarbonise the power sector by 2035.

The report found that while the Government has many separate ongoing power decarbonisation plans, its ambitions are jeopardised by the lack of an integrated and coherent delivery plan. 

The Government’s delivery plan must also set out when and how the costs of decarbonising the power sector will be likely to have an impact on energy bill payers and taxpayers. The costs to build, maintain and operate the power system are typically passed onto consumer bills, but the Government has not yet assessed what the costs of the clean energy transition ultimately mean for the general public. The Government’s plans to improve energy efficiency and change consumer behaviour, both key to meeting net zero, are not clear.

The PAC is sceptical that the Government’s plans for expanding nuclear, solar and wind power are credible and has called for annual progress updates to Parliament. The UK’s current operating capacity is a quarter of the goals set for nuclear, solar and offshore wind power, with expansion plans relying in part on technology still at an early stage.

The Government estimates that up to £400 billion of public and private investment in new generating capacity will be needed by 2037, but the PAC is unconvinced that the private sector has been given enough clarity to confidently invest. 

Dame Meg Hillier MP, Chair of the Committee, said: “What is the plan? It has now long been understood and accepted that greening our economy is an existential priority, with the Government setting itself the target of securing an entirely low-carbon power supply by 2035. But without a coherent delivery plan to get there, the Government will find it harder to know what decisions it must take, and when, to ensure that it can realistically reach its ambitions.”